A few weeks ago I wrote my congressman about the upcoming SOPA and similar legislation. Below is the response I received:

"Dear :

Thank you for contacting me to express your concern regarding H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and similar pieces of legislation making its way through Congress . I appreciate hearing your views on this legislation.
Illegal piracy and counterfeiting cost the U.S. economy $100 billion and thousands of jobs every year. There is wide agreement that " rogue websites " – or websites that operate overseas and sell counterfeit or pirated property – r epresent a significant threat to American intellectual property, which is a Constitutionally protected right in the U.S.
New laws and policies are needed to address this growing and costly threat from overseas; however, I share your concern about some aspects of SOPA. Changes to the bill have been made in the House Judiciary Committee to address many of the concerns that have been raised about the bill. This process is ongoing, and further changes are possible. It is my hope that at the end of this process, a bill can be agreed upon that combats foreign websites that profit off online piracy, that protects freedom of speech, individual liberty, and that retains the integrity of the internet.
Thank you again for contacting me with your thoughts. For additional information regarding current legislation and my representation of the 2nd District, please visit my website: poe.house.gov. While you are visiting the website, be sure to sign up for my electronic newsletter.

God and Texas,

TED POE
Member of Congress
TEXAS"

I'm not denying that money has been lost because of online piracy. My point is that most of these people are not gonna suffer in the slightest as a result. Please explain how 2 million will make you happier than 1 million. It won't. Most of the people doing this are poor and don't make a dime off it. I guarantee you the law won't be limited to only sites making a profit. I honestly have no idea where you got the $100 billion lost very year but I can tell you that such "reports" are routinely doctored to promote a particular point of view (i.e Iraq and now Iran). Listen to yourself... what "significant threat" are you referring to? How is people downloading/uploading stuff a threat to the US? It's not. The only threat is to the corporations who are already making billions. Online piracy in NO way threatens or harms the average citizen. In fact most enjoy it because we don't have to pay $20 for a large drink and popcorn for a movie that sucks!

Problem. Reaction. Solution.

I just received this:

"Dear :

Knowing of your concern for H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), I am writing you today with an update on this piece of legislation. Today, the House Judiciary Committee announced that it would not move forward with consideration of SOPA until there are significant changes made and more widespread support. The Senate also announced that it would not move forward with consideration of the Senate version of SOPA called PIPA (the Protect IP Act). I welcome these announcement because of the bill's overreach. The bill is not moving anywhere in the foreseeable future.

While the bill sought to combat internet piracy from overseas websites, Congress needs to rethink what is the best approach to combating foreign thieves and pirates that profit from stealing American products and property without infringing upon individual liberty and privacy. If you have any ideas on the best way to do this, please share your thoughts with me through my website poe.house.gov.

Thank you again for contacting me with your concerns regarding SOPA.

God and Texas,

TED POE
Member of Congress
TEXAS"

This is a victory for the people. It doesn't mean it's over but this should serve as an excellent example (and I hate to sound all corny but...) that when the people unite they are powerless to stop us. I honestly don't know of anyone who did support this besides the corporations. We did not let ourselves be distracted with the usual PETTY political,religious(or lack there of lol o.~ ) etc. squabbles. Enough people understood and took action. We spoke with one voice: HELL NO!